Assessing variation in faecal glucocorticoid concentrations in gray whales exposed to anthropogenic stressors
Understanding how individual animals respond to stressors behaviourally and physiologically is a critical step towards quantifying long-term population consequences and informing management efforts. Glucocorticoid (GC) metabolite accumulation in various matrices provides an integrated measure of adr...
Published in: | Conservation Physiology |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2023
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Online Access: | https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/assessing-variation-in-faecal-glucocorticoid-concentrations-in-gray-whales-exposed-to-anthropogenic-stressors(1dfb9132-f494-4146-8499-1520a0dccd3f).html https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coad082 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/28771/1/Pirotta-2023-Assessing-variation-in-faecal-ConservPhysiol-coad082-CCBY.pdf |
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ftunstandrewcris:oai:research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/1dfb9132-f494-4146-8499-1520a0dccd3f 2024-09-15T17:57:28+00:00 Assessing variation in faecal glucocorticoid concentrations in gray whales exposed to anthropogenic stressors Pirotta, Enrico Fernandez Ajó, Alejandro Bierlich, KC Bird, Clara Buck, C. Loren Haver, Samara Haxel, Joseph Hildebrand, Lisa Hunt, Kathleen Lemos, Leila New, Leslie Torres, Leigh 2023-11-11 application/pdf https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/assessing-variation-in-faecal-glucocorticoid-concentrations-in-gray-whales-exposed-to-anthropogenic-stressors(1dfb9132-f494-4146-8499-1520a0dccd3f).html https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coad082 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/28771/1/Pirotta-2023-Assessing-variation-in-faecal-ConservPhysiol-coad082-CCBY.pdf eng eng https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/assessing-variation-in-faecal-glucocorticoid-concentrations-in-gray-whales-exposed-to-anthropogenic-stressors(1dfb9132-f494-4146-8499-1520a0dccd3f).html info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Pirotta , E , Fernandez Ajó , A , Bierlich , KC , Bird , C , Buck , C L , Haver , S , Haxel , J , Hildebrand , L , Hunt , K , Lemos , L , New , L & Torres , L 2023 , ' Assessing variation in faecal glucocorticoid concentrations in gray whales exposed to anthropogenic stressors ' , Conservation Physiology , vol. 11 , no. 1 , coad082 . https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coad082 Anthropogenic stressors Baleen whales Dose-response functions Faecal hormone metabolites Glucocorticoids Pacific Coast Feeding Group gray whales Physiological variation article 2023 ftunstandrewcris https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coad082 2024-08-21T23:46:11Z Understanding how individual animals respond to stressors behaviourally and physiologically is a critical step towards quantifying long-term population consequences and informing management efforts. Glucocorticoid (GC) metabolite accumulation in various matrices provides an integrated measure of adrenal activation in baleen whales and could thus be used to investigate physiological changes following exposure to stressors. In this study, we measured GC concentrations in faecal samples of Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG) gray whales ( Eschrichtius robustus ) collected over seven consecutive years to assess the association between GC content and metrics of exposure to sound levels and vessel traffic at different temporal scales, while controlling for contextual variables such as sex, reproductive status, age, body condition, year, time of year and location. We develop a Bayesian Generalized Additive Modelling approach that accommodates the many complexities of these data, including non-linear variation in hormone concentrations, missing covariate values, repeated samples, sampling variability and some hormone concentrations below the limit of detection. Estimated relationships showed large variability, but emerging patterns indicate a strong context-dependency of physiological variation, depending on sex, body condition and proximity to a port. Our results highlight the need to control for baseline hormone variation related to context, which otherwise can obscure the functional relationship between faecal GCs and stressor exposure. Therefore, extensive data collection to determine sources of baseline variation in well-studied populations, such as PCFG gray whales, could shed light on cetacean stress physiology and be used to extend applicability to less-well-studied taxa. GC analyses may offer greatest utility when employed as part of a suite of markers that, in aggregate, provide a multivariate measure of physiological status, better informing estimates of individuals’ health and ultimately the consequences of ... Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whales University of St Andrews: Research Portal Conservation Physiology 11 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftunstandrewcris |
language |
English |
topic |
Anthropogenic stressors Baleen whales Dose-response functions Faecal hormone metabolites Glucocorticoids Pacific Coast Feeding Group gray whales Physiological variation |
spellingShingle |
Anthropogenic stressors Baleen whales Dose-response functions Faecal hormone metabolites Glucocorticoids Pacific Coast Feeding Group gray whales Physiological variation Pirotta, Enrico Fernandez Ajó, Alejandro Bierlich, KC Bird, Clara Buck, C. Loren Haver, Samara Haxel, Joseph Hildebrand, Lisa Hunt, Kathleen Lemos, Leila New, Leslie Torres, Leigh Assessing variation in faecal glucocorticoid concentrations in gray whales exposed to anthropogenic stressors |
topic_facet |
Anthropogenic stressors Baleen whales Dose-response functions Faecal hormone metabolites Glucocorticoids Pacific Coast Feeding Group gray whales Physiological variation |
description |
Understanding how individual animals respond to stressors behaviourally and physiologically is a critical step towards quantifying long-term population consequences and informing management efforts. Glucocorticoid (GC) metabolite accumulation in various matrices provides an integrated measure of adrenal activation in baleen whales and could thus be used to investigate physiological changes following exposure to stressors. In this study, we measured GC concentrations in faecal samples of Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG) gray whales ( Eschrichtius robustus ) collected over seven consecutive years to assess the association between GC content and metrics of exposure to sound levels and vessel traffic at different temporal scales, while controlling for contextual variables such as sex, reproductive status, age, body condition, year, time of year and location. We develop a Bayesian Generalized Additive Modelling approach that accommodates the many complexities of these data, including non-linear variation in hormone concentrations, missing covariate values, repeated samples, sampling variability and some hormone concentrations below the limit of detection. Estimated relationships showed large variability, but emerging patterns indicate a strong context-dependency of physiological variation, depending on sex, body condition and proximity to a port. Our results highlight the need to control for baseline hormone variation related to context, which otherwise can obscure the functional relationship between faecal GCs and stressor exposure. Therefore, extensive data collection to determine sources of baseline variation in well-studied populations, such as PCFG gray whales, could shed light on cetacean stress physiology and be used to extend applicability to less-well-studied taxa. GC analyses may offer greatest utility when employed as part of a suite of markers that, in aggregate, provide a multivariate measure of physiological status, better informing estimates of individuals’ health and ultimately the consequences of ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pirotta, Enrico Fernandez Ajó, Alejandro Bierlich, KC Bird, Clara Buck, C. Loren Haver, Samara Haxel, Joseph Hildebrand, Lisa Hunt, Kathleen Lemos, Leila New, Leslie Torres, Leigh |
author_facet |
Pirotta, Enrico Fernandez Ajó, Alejandro Bierlich, KC Bird, Clara Buck, C. Loren Haver, Samara Haxel, Joseph Hildebrand, Lisa Hunt, Kathleen Lemos, Leila New, Leslie Torres, Leigh |
author_sort |
Pirotta, Enrico |
title |
Assessing variation in faecal glucocorticoid concentrations in gray whales exposed to anthropogenic stressors |
title_short |
Assessing variation in faecal glucocorticoid concentrations in gray whales exposed to anthropogenic stressors |
title_full |
Assessing variation in faecal glucocorticoid concentrations in gray whales exposed to anthropogenic stressors |
title_fullStr |
Assessing variation in faecal glucocorticoid concentrations in gray whales exposed to anthropogenic stressors |
title_full_unstemmed |
Assessing variation in faecal glucocorticoid concentrations in gray whales exposed to anthropogenic stressors |
title_sort |
assessing variation in faecal glucocorticoid concentrations in gray whales exposed to anthropogenic stressors |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/assessing-variation-in-faecal-glucocorticoid-concentrations-in-gray-whales-exposed-to-anthropogenic-stressors(1dfb9132-f494-4146-8499-1520a0dccd3f).html https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coad082 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/28771/1/Pirotta-2023-Assessing-variation-in-faecal-ConservPhysiol-coad082-CCBY.pdf |
genre |
baleen whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whales |
op_source |
Pirotta , E , Fernandez Ajó , A , Bierlich , KC , Bird , C , Buck , C L , Haver , S , Haxel , J , Hildebrand , L , Hunt , K , Lemos , L , New , L & Torres , L 2023 , ' Assessing variation in faecal glucocorticoid concentrations in gray whales exposed to anthropogenic stressors ' , Conservation Physiology , vol. 11 , no. 1 , coad082 . https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coad082 |
op_relation |
https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/assessing-variation-in-faecal-glucocorticoid-concentrations-in-gray-whales-exposed-to-anthropogenic-stressors(1dfb9132-f494-4146-8499-1520a0dccd3f).html |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coad082 |
container_title |
Conservation Physiology |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1810433612663750656 |